UU Community Church of Washington County's Podcast

They say that you should seek first to understand, before being understood. But life isn't always that simple. In this service, we explore when to explore the other, and when to speak up for ourselves.  

Hanukkah, a word that means dedication in Hebrew, has become an important Jewish observance in part because its teachings can offer us such diverse wisdom. Is it an ancient lesson about wondrous mystery? A call to arms or political cautionary tale? A reminder about collective power, or perhaps just a story with which to entertain children? Join us to explore and appreciate some of these meanings....

All ages welcome. We enter the new year with a fire ceremony.  Let go of what you don't want anymore, and bring with you what matters most.  This is especially meaningful if it feels like you have been passing through a storm.  

It has been 55 years since Dr Martin Luther King’s assassination.  His leadership during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s is well known, but sadly in 2023 it seems the progress made in our country then is now in regression.  Today we will give thought to how each of us sees our role in sustaining the Dream MLK left with us.  

Our search for truth and meaning expands our horizons, but what lies beyond? We'll explore what happens when we engage in our search with a sense of wonder.  

In our service this Sunday we will present and reflect upon two important non-profits in our own area that provide food and shelter to those in need, and this congregation’s many years of support to both.  Today’s service was created by Jay Hamlin and Mike and Denise Bruhl, three long-time members of this church who are also long-time givers of their personal time, labor, and financial help to Fam...

Life can be a series of eye-openings, becoming more aware of what brings meaning in life and how to live accordingly. We explore what it's like to learn more, while knowing that there is still more beyond our ken.  

The UUA has released a draft proposal to replace the UU principles. In this service we will celebrate our principles, consider what problems the draft proposal is trying to solve, and consider any problems that the draft creates. This is the beginning of a conversation that will continue in heart-to-heart conversations.  

The end of October and start of November mark Halloween, Samhain, and Day of the Dead celebrations.  When seasons change, leaves fall, and nature prepares for dormancy may be a fitting time to acknowledge the reality of our own inevitable death and dying.  Understanding hospice and palliative care as end-of-life options can help us plan for ourselves and others, but many misconceptions exist surro...

Each year we do a service to highlight the work of the Unitarian Universalist Office at the United Nations, usually related to human rights and/or climate change. This year the theme is “Displacement & Human Rights: All In for Climate Justice” and it focuses especially on the impact of escalating climate change on vulnerable populations, an impact that can no longer be ignored. How are UUs eng...

The word equity is in one of our principles, but conversations about equity can be fraught. Some of us have felt hurt by these conversations, while some of us have felt like we are walking on eggshells. I'll share my own opinion, to practice compassionate communication about a challenging topic.  

October 11, 1988, was the day chosen for “National Coming Out Day” in the United States. What does that mean to the thousands of LGBTQ Adults in Custody (AICs) in Oregon's prisons? Rev. Sue Matranga-Watson will look at the history of LGBTQ rights and attitudes in the Department of Corrections (DOC) and what are the policies, guidelines, and attitudes toward LBGTQ incarcerated individuals now...

One reason we come here is the deep personal connections. But relationship can be complicated, and once bitten, twice shy. What do you need, to open your heart to another soul? In interim ministry, we reconnect.  

As religious liberals, we tend to love new experiences, new ideas, new ways of seeing the world. In this service, we explore how to nurture this feeling of openness that feeds our souls. In these times, how can we stay open, as individuals, as a church, as a society.  

Navigating human relationships– family, friendship, community, business – can seem overwhelming and complicated. Here is one simple principle with surprising depth and power.  

These days, a lot of people are looking for something grounding, nourishing, even sacred. Perhaps they are looking for this community. How do you describe what this community means to you? This Sunday, we'll explore ways to say what is in our hearts.  

For this all-ages service, bring water from your home or from your summer. We will imagine that our water is full of our rest and renewal, our joy, our grief, and any changes that we've gone through this summer. We will combine our water, including water from the history of this church. We come together, and start a hero's adventure: another year together. If you are participating from h...

Being a UU is much like participating in an orchestra of diverse instruments and sounds. We hold a place for divergent voices and opinions to be together in harmony. Let's explore how those voices and that music are connected to and indeed are led by our Principles and Covenants.  

Rev. Emily A. Champagne will speak about her nine months in Moscow and how this experience has affected her feelings about the Russian people and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.   

Many Unitarian-Universalists have difficulty with the concept of forgiveness. It's one of those "loaded" words that for some of us carries a lot of baggage. Pamela will talk about the best definition of the word and what forgiveness truly is and what it is not.  

Art—great art—connects us to the people of past generations and to their truths. As human beings, each of us is an artist, in our own way. Each of us has the power to leave something behind to connect to generations yet to come.  

At this painful point in history, our sustaining systems (natural and human) all seem to be unraveling. Many wonder if we will even continue to have a planet that’s habitable to complex life-forms. Vulnerability is scary, but it is full of possibilities and surprises. Amidst the hopelessness, is there a way people can use their compassion to regenerate necessary connections in these faltering syst...

Join us as we respond to a crisis that calls upon our UU community and our connection to the web of existence. And prepare to meet our forlorn and lonely neighbor, Ms. Bea Gotten, who is so in need of our loving UUCCWC sincere response.  

Emily Bostian discusses how literature, especially children’s literature relates to our UU Principles and the challenges of life.  

Our world is full of invisible labor. Our lives are often made possible by the work of people we never see or know. Many of the spaces where we connect to build our beloved community are created and sustained by “subtle hands behind the scenes.” This Sunday we’ll meet some of these “Invisibles” and explore ways to fully see and honor them.